President Donald Trump is currently tearing down the East Wing of the White House for the construction of a ballroom that is set to be bigger than the primary section of the white house.
he increasing 300 Million dollar reconstruction, which has increased by over 100 million since the start, is set to be paid for by donations from Trump’s associates and large businesses including: Amazon, Apple, Google, Hard Rock, Microsoft, T-Mobile, Meta and more.
So far in his presidency, Trump has covered the Oval Office in gold and built a patio over the White House’s rose garden, which, according to the White House Historical Association, was built in 1913 by First Lady Wilson.
The East WIng of the White House previously held a workspace for the First Lady, which has been demolished. Trump is the first President who’s “redecorating” of the White House has resulted in the demolition of an entire wing.
“Theres a lot of history wrapped up in that section,” says Kathryn Larson, AP Government teacher at MCHS. “Historically, it’s been used more the First Lady and certain events that are placed there … a lot of the sociocultural history of the White House is in there. It gave the White House a lot of character and a lot of humanity.”
The East Wing of the White House being demolished not only is tearing down the physical structure of the White House but tearing down important history of our country.
“Some people argue that the presidents change the White House all the time,” Larson says. “There have been minor changes throughout the years … but other people argue that instead, that this is a different kind of change.”
“Before this, the biggest demolition that the White House has seen is when Truman redid the entire inside of a wing,” continues Larson. “… this is the largest demolition that has happened so far.”
According to Politico, former first lady and Presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton spoke about Trump’s demolition.
“Its not his house,” she said, “it’s your house, and he’s destroying it.”
Students at MCHS also have opinions on the White House reconstruction.
“It’s not like reconstruction hasn’t been done to the White House before,” says senior and AP Government student Owen Hobson. “It’s not the worst thing he could have done, but there’s better things that he could be focusing on … I feel like getting the government employees back to their jobs and getting paid would be a smarter thing to do than focusing on a ballroom.”
Trump continues to make changes to the White House, including a new bathroom, remaining a polarizing topic for American Citizens.